Sunlight is Amazing!

Despite the unusual cold of this winter, I was really excited to fit in a 4-mile and a 6-mile run this weekend! Maybe my tiny amount of exposed skin even got a tan. One can only hope.

After I got in from both of those runs, I had a bowl of Moroccan oatmeal to warm up because my body always "thinks" it's starving after a workout. Problem is, a little boy wants to eat my oatmeal, too. Next time I'm adding a little extra oats to my bowl to account for sharing with E ;)

YAY sunlight!!!

Both of the runs went really well and I know I need to fit more outdoor runs in along with treadmill running. Running outside, especially on snow and ice, is a great stability exercise for your legs and entire body. I'm thinking a bit more about the May half marathon coming up and I want to get my body used to running 6+ miles with ease again.

Love the frosted eyelashes look. So fashionable.

Half Marathon Adventure

I've trained for six full marathons but, honestly, I don't know too much about training for a half. My initial thought for training is just do half of everything I do to train for a full marathon... but I'm guessing it's not that simple. I adore the full marathon, but I know I will enjoy running only 13 miles as my longest training distance!

Back in a September post, I talked a bit about my motives for running a half this time. We are praying for Baby #2 and we know that everything will happen in God's perfect timing. Running a half will be a great way to work on my speed, if I'm not expecting by then. AND, if I can keep up with her, I can race with my sis-in-law. (I've never ran a long distance with someone before!) If we are expecting, I can always walk-run the race if necessary!

When we found out we were pregnant with E, the doctor asked me to back out of a challenging trail marathon I was signed up for. Might as well not chance it this time; I'm just not cut out for running 26.2 while pregnant. So, the half it is!

My trusty ole Garmin has been through a lot. Sprinklers, heat, and humidity in Boston to freezing temps up here! I'm renaming it "Old Faithful".

How do you stay fit in the winter?

Guest Post at the Marathon Training Academy

And, on the note of winter running, here is a post I wrote about maintaining fitness in the winter. It was featured last week on the Marathon Training Academy. Feel free to give it a read!

Here is a snippet from Maintaining Fitness in the Winter Months:

"Staying motivated through the winter is challenging and this winter I’m doing my best to battle cabin fever.

The cold temps and shortened spans of daylight can really sap motivation. Where I live, we have what I will call a “seasonal imbalance” where winter consumes half of the year. Staying inside and being sedentary for six months just isn’t an option. Despite my dislike for the winter, I make the best of the season.

Your picture with the frosted eyelashes, twinkle in your eye, blue sky behind you is TOTALLY reflective of your blog name "Life to the Full" ... I'm not a cold weather gal, but your picture looks absolutely refreshing it almost (almost) makes me want to venture outside. Sunshine and blue skies can make such a difference in how I feel about the day :)

Thanks, Jen! Those runs outside were VERY refreshing, despite it being a little cold. I've been feeling a lot of cabin fever this winter and can't wait for the temp to be above zero again consistently :) Yay summer!!!